NEW YORK, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Evercore Partners Inc. (NYSE: EVR) today announced that Ray E. Newton, III has joined the firm as Senior Managing Director in its private equity group, Evercore Capital Partners ('ECP'). Mr. Newton, who most recently was a Senior Managing Director at private equity firm Perseus, LLC, will serve on the Investment Committee of ECP alongside James R. Matthews, Neeraj Mital and Kathleen G. Reiland. Messrs. Matthews and Newton have known each other for 14 years, having worked together at J. H. Whitney & Co. from 1994 to 1998. Mr. Newton's appointment is effective today and he will be based in New York.

'We are truly pleased that Chip Newton has joined Evercore,' said Roger C. Altman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Evercore Partners. 'He has a 20-year track record of successful private equity investing in middle market companies, and he fits well with our existing team and our investing strategy. Chip's addition completes the senior investing team at ECP and we will promptly begin to raise our third private equity fund.'

During his almost 10-year tenure at Perseus, Mr. Newton was involved in all aspects of the firm's middle market buyout investment process. He played an integral role in helping to build and enhance the value of several companies, including Converse, Inc., which was sold to Nike, Inc., at a substantial gain.

Prior to Perseus, Mr. Newton was a General Partner at J. H. Whitney & Co., where he worked from 1989 to 1998. Mr. Newton, 44, is a graduate of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Princeton University.